Another failed quail hatch...beginning to think it's our incubator...

[beakkeeper]

We started with 60 coturnix eggs from a local breeder in early June. Seemed like it was going okay but they never hatched...I opened the eggs and saw maybe 3 developed chicks dead but the rest were either very early development or nothing at all. It was heartbreaking. I suspected temperature swings with the incubator and wanted to try again.

Now, we're on day 16 with a new batch of celadon eggs from a different and I have a horrible feeling that they've already all died. Nothing is visible on candling--just an air pocket and a shadow. We've kept them in a temp controlled room in a Farm Innovations still air incubator set to 101...calibrated the thermometer and kept a careful eye on it, turned several times daily...I just don't get it. I feel sick thinking about killing all those eggs but I don't know what we did wrong. I guess there are a few days left in this hatch but there's literally nothing in the eggs so it doesn't seem likely...

 

[Texasclucker]

This happened to me too 12 button quail eggs a kind of poultry i used to really really want almost all developed greatly one even pipped i just trusted my incubators thermometer not actually got one i could put in there i suggest for any other eggs you hatch do get an actual thermometer hopefully some hatching eggsperts will come along I have hatched a few 40 egg hatches and 4 duck eggs even all with great success and a thermometer that is not the one built into the incubator

 

[Texasclucker]

but it could also be humidity

 

[beakkeeper]

This happened to me too 12 button quail eggs a kind of poultry i used to really really want almost all developed greatly one even pipped i just trusted my incubators thermometer not actually got one i could put in there i suggest for any other eggs you hatch do get an actual thermometer hopefully some hatching eggsperts will come along I have hatched a few 40 egg hatches and 4 duck eggs even all with great success and a thermometer that is not the one built into the incubator

Thanks, we actually had 4 thermometers in the last one...they never did agree exactly but were within 1 degree. This time I calibrated a simple mercury one and put it in there, i ignore the one that's built into the incubator. Still isn't working out

 

[beakkeeper]

but it could also be humidity

Would that really cause them to die before they even develop? We just did ambient humidity which was in the 50s and bumped it to 60s during hatching

 

[Texasclucker]

Would that really cause them to die before they even develop? We just did ambient humidity which was in the 50s and bumped it to 60s during hatching

I believe it can of course I'm no hatching expert by any means but i plan to do a lot of it when my birds for a color project of mine mature hopefully she can answer you but i believe @Kiki knows a lot about hatching!

 

[Kiki]

We started with 60 coturnix eggs from a local breeder in early June. Seemed like it was going okay but they never hatched...I opened the eggs and saw maybe 3 developed chicks dead but the rest were either very early development or nothing at all. It was heartbreaking. I suspected temperature swings with the incubator and wanted to try again.

Now, we're on day 16 with a new batch of celadon eggs from a different and I have a horrible feeling that they've already all died. Nothing is visible on candling--just an air pocket and a shadow. We've kept them in a temp controlled room in a Farm Innovations still air incubator set to 101...calibrated the thermometer and kept a careful eye on it, turned several times daily...I just don't get it. I feel sick thinking about killing all those eggs but I don't know what we did wrong. I guess there are a few days left in this hatch but there's literally nothing in the eggs so it doesn't seem likely...

How many thermometers do you have in your incubator?
Do you have a salt tested humidity gauge?
What have you been keeping the humidity level at?

 

[Kiki]

Would that really cause them to die before they even develop? We just did ambient humidity which was in the 50s and bumped it to 60s during hatching

Temp spikes kill quick.
Are you sure your bator wasn't getting too hot in some spots?

When you say what would cause them to die before they even develop... Are you opening the eggs and are they completely clear with zero red spots in them?

 

[Kiki]

Would that really cause them to die before they even develop? We just did ambient humidity which was in the 50s and bumped it to 60s during hatching

I keep my incubator at about 30% humidity throughout when I'm hatching quail eggs.
I do not bump it up much at all for hatch day...which is when I start seeing external pips....only to 45-50%.

The problem is most incubators built in humidity gauges are completely wrong so if you don't have a salt tested separately purchase humidity gauge and you are trusting your built-in humidity gauge it could be way higher than you think it is.

 

[beakkeeper]

I keep my incubator at about 30% humidity throughout when I'm hatching quail eggs.
I do not bump it up much at all for hatch day...which is when I start seeing external pips....only to 45-50%.

The problem is most incubators built in humidity gauges are completely wrong so if you don't have a salt tested separately purchase humidity gauge and you are trusting your built-in humidity gauge it could be way higher than you think it is.

We were using a separate, digital thermometer with humidity readout as well. Ambient humidity has been super high here so it is hard to get it lower than that